BBQ opens 4th Honduras branch just weeks after entering market

Customers wait in line to order at a BBQ branch in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Courtesy of Genesis BBQ Group

Korean fried chicken franchise BBQ opened its fourth location in Honduras just 47 days after entering the market, accelerating its expansion across Central America.

Genesis BBQ Group, the Seoul-based franchise, said Tuesday it had opened the new branch at Town Center, a mixed-use commercial complex in southeastern San Pedro Sula, the country’s second-largest city.

Genesis BBQ opened its first Honduras branch at Masdeval Plaza in San Pedro Sula in February, then expanded north to the port city of La Ceiba and south to the inland city of Choluteca before opening the Town Center outlet. The company said it is building a network anchored in the country’s key regional hubs.

San Pedro Sula, home to roughly 900,000 residents, serves as Honduras' main commercial and logistics hub and hosts a concentration of global restaurant brands including McDonald's, Burger King, Applebee's and Subway.

The Town Center outlet, which spans about 168.6 square meters, operates as a quick-service restaurant serving the brand’s signature fried chicken alongside Korean dishes including tteokbokki (spicy rice cake dish), rice bowls and chicken fried rice. Set meals for couples and families have accounted for a large share of sales, while tteokbokki and rose tteokbokki — a milder, cream-based variation of the dish — have emerged as fast-growing side items.

The Korean franchise currently operates 24 branches across Central America and the Caribbean, including in Panama, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Honduras.

The company holds a master franchise agreement covering Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, and plans to open fifth and sixth Honduras branches in July. Flagship stores in Guatemala City and San Salvador are targeted for the third quarter. It also plans to expand into Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.